The Lazy Way I Sold Digital Recipe Books Using Free Content

Cooking Wasn’t My Passion… But This Idea Cooked Up Fast

I’ll be honest—I’m not a chef. I don’t meal prep. I don’t have a Pinterest-worthy kitchen.
But I knew something most people overlook: food content always wins on Instagram.
And one day, the thought hit me… “Can I sell something without actually cooking anything?”

Spoiler: Yes, I could. And I did.

I Built a Cooking Page Using Premade Videos

No filming. No cooking. No grocery bills. Just pure strategy and a little creativity.
I downloaded high-quality royalty-free cooking videos from free content.
Then I added chill music, light editing in Canva or CapCut, and posted it like it was mine.
Clean, simple, and 100% stress-free.

300 Days. One Post a Day. No Excuses.

I didn’t post once a week and hope for magic.
I committed to showing up every single day for 300 days.
Even if it was midnight. Even if the reel flopped. I posted anyway.

Here’s what I posted:

• Quick 30-second recipe clips

• Ingredient breakdowns with aesthetic music

• Carousel posts with “swipe for the steps”

• Simple captions like “Would you eat this? 🤤”

The account slowly grew. First 100 followers, then 1,000. Then the DMs started.

“Do you have these recipes somewhere?”

So I Made a $5 Recipe Book… Without Writing Recipes

Here’s the twist: I didn’t even create the recipes.
I curated 21 beginner-friendly meals from free online sites like AllRecipes, BBC Good Food, and other open blogs.
I rewrote the steps in my voice, added cute visuals in Canva, and turned them into a clean eBook.

Then I bundled it all and sold it for just $5.

No Website. Just a Gumroad Link.

I didn’t bother setting up a fancy store.
I added the Gumroad link to my Instagram bio and made a Highlight that said “📕 Recipes”.
In stories, I’d share reviews, post screenshots of DMs, and tease new recipes from the book.

The First Sale Was a Game-Changer

When I saw that first “You made a sale” email pop up—I couldn’t believe it.
Someone actually bought a $5 recipe bundle I made from free online content.
That $5 felt like $500, simply because it proved it worked.

It Didn’t Go Viral—It Just Worked

No ads. No giveaways. No influencers. Just:

• Consistent content

• Free videos

• A helpful, low-cost product

• Real engagement with the community

I kept it human. I responded to every comment. I made my content feel personal—even if it was pre-made.

Final Thoughts

This whole thing started as an experiment.
No kitchen. No cooking. Just creativity and consistency.
And that $5 bundle? It’s been one of the laziest but smartest moves I’ve made in digital product selling.

Because sometimes… being lazy just means being smart with your time.